Development of remote monitoring process tools for biomass fired bubbling fluidized bed boilers

Remote monitoring of a power boiler allows the supplying company to make sure that equipment is used as supposed to and gives a good chance for process optimization. This improves co-operation between the supplier and the customer and creates an aura of trust that helps securing future contracts. Remote monitoring is already in use with recovery boilers but the goal is to expand especially to biomass-fired BFB-boilers. To make remote monitoring possible, data has to be measured reliably on site and the link between the power plant and supplying company’s server has to work reliably. Data can be gathered either with the supplier’s sensors or with measurements originally installed in the power plant if the plant in question is not originally built by the supplying company. Main goal in remote monitoring is process optimization and avoiding unnecessary accidents. This can be achieved for instance by following the efficiency curves and fouling in different parts of the process and comparing them to past values. The final amount of calculations depends on the amount of data gathered. Sudden changes in efficiency or fouling require further notice and in such a case it’s important that dialogue toward the power plant in question also works.

Statin Adherence, Utilisation, and Prescribing Patterns. Improving effectiveness of treatment

Statins are one of the most widely studied and evidence-based medications. Randomised controlled trials have provided convincing evidence on the benefits of statin therapy in preventing cardiovascular events. Despite proven benefits, low costs, and few adverse effects, everyday effectiveness of statins is limited, since adherence to statin therapy is poor. This thesis was conducted as four pharmacoepidemiological studies using register data on statin users in real clinical care. The main purpose of the study was to evaluate prescribing patterns and to discover the lifestyle factors predicting statin nonadherence and discontinuation. This knowledge is essential in order to help physicians to motivate the adherence of their patients to treatment. In Finland, from 1998 to 2004, the number of statin initiators nearly doubled. The discovered channelling of atorvastatin and simvastatin may have affected the treatment outcomes at the public health level. It is possible that money spent on statins in Finland in 1998‒2004 could have been used in a more cost-effective way. In 2015, the percentage of patients receiving reimbursement for statins was 12% of the total population. Thus, it is a major public health and economic challenge to improve statin effectiveness and allocate therapy correctly. Among the participants with cardiovascular comorbidities, risky alcohol use or clustering of lifestyle risks were predictors of nonadherence. In addition, the prevalence of nonadherence to statins increased after retirement among both men and women. This increase in post-retirement nonadherence was highest among those receiving statins for secondary prevention. Discontinuation of statin therapy was predicted by high patient co-payment, and in women, by risky alcohol use. Recognising the predictors of nonadherence to statins is important because nonadherence is associated with an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes and higher healthcare costs. In conclusion, optimal outcomes in medical therapy require both efficacious medications and adherence to those treatments. When prescribing statins to eligible patients, the physician’s clinical expertise in recognising patients at risk of statin discontinuation and nonadherence, as well as their ability to increase adherence, may have a great effect on public health.

Weathering crises on social media – Theory and practices from social media active organizations operating in Finland

Thesis compiles findings from previous research to produce guidelines on addressing crises on social media. These guidelines extracted from previous research are compared qualitatively with empirical evidence from 12 organizations by examining whether organizations apply practices recommended in previous research. Much of guidelines gain support from practitioners with few exceptions. Findings stemming from theory and practice combine to shed light on how controversies are born on social media, how crises can be prevented on social media and how organizations may manage crisis situations on social media. The majority of the resulting guidelines focus on how to address negative information and communicate during a crisis but other means of crisis management are also presented. Previous research had voiced that the field of public relations was very fractured, crisis management was lacking qualitative research and provided very little information on what organizations should do before a crisis. Thesis collects a comprehensive amount of previous research from various fields of PR in an effort to unite findings and guidelines, gathers and analyzes empirical data in a qualitative manner and includes a pre-crisis paradigm. One of the challenges in the field of crisis management still remains the absence of universally agreed definition of a crisis and the lack of means to quantify and compare the magnitude of crises.

Ranskalaisen lähiökulttuurin välittäminen elokuvassa La Haine

Tutkielman tarkoituksena on tarkastella ja analysoida kahta elokuvan La Haine (suom. Viha) tekstitystä. Ensimmäinen on La Hainen DVD-versio 2005-2006, jonka on suomentanut Irmeli Debarle. Toinen on elokuvan Yleltä tullut televisioversio vuodelta 2010, jonka on suomentanut Marjo Hiidensalo. Tutkielman tarkoituksena on selvittää, miten kaksi eri suomentajaa ovat tekstittäneet elokuvassa puhuttua Pariisin lähiöslangia. Analysoin käytettyjä käännösstrategioita, taktiikoita ja keinoja, joilla suomentajat ovat luoneet slangin illuusion. Esitän vaihtoehtoisen käännösehdotuksen silloin, kun elokuvan sävy tai tyyli eivät mielestäni heijastu tekstityksissä. Tutkielmassa on myös sosiologinen näkökulma; Koska elokuvan keskeisiin teemoihin kuuluvat sekä lähiönuorten elämäntavat että syrjäytyminen, tarkastelen siis syrjäytymisen välittymistä koko audiovisuaalisessa viestissä, eli elokuvassa esiintyvän puhekielen lisäksi analysoin puheenaiheita ja pääprotagonistien elämäntapaa. Teoreettisena viitekehyksenä on AV-kääntämisen näkökulma ja tutkimusmenetelmänä diskurssianalyysi. Analyysi osoitti, että tutkimuksessa tarkastellut kaksi eri suomeksi teksitettyä elokuvaversiota poikkesivat käännösstrategioiltaan toisistaan. Yleisesti ottaen televisioversion käännöstaktisina keinoina olivat tiivistäminen, poisjättö, parafraasi, ellipsien käyttö ja syntaksin yksinkertaistaminen. Slangin illuusio saatin luotua ajoittaisella slangilla, kirosanoilla ja solvauksilla. DVD-versiossa käännettiin paljon enemmän kielellistä ainesta ja käännökset olivat tutkitussa materiaalissa ajoittain sanasanaisia käännöksiä; lisäksi verlanisoidut sanat oli joskus tulkittu virheellisesti. DVD-versiossa tekstitykset oli kuitenkin ajoitettu paremmin: Katsojan on helppo seurata elokuvaa, sillä tekstitys kulkee elokuvan audiovisuaalisen puolen kanssa synkronoidusti.